February 13, 2025 – According to a report released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) on February 12th, the replacement cycle for iPhones among American users has slightly shortened as of December 2024. CIRP has been tracking relevant data since 2014, and generally speaking, the replacement cycle for iPhone users had been increasing over the years, except for 2020 and 2021 when it was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, recent quarterly data reveals a slight change in this trend.
Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2024, 36% of iPhone buyers stated that it had been less than two years since their last phone replacement, compared to 31% in the fourth quarter of 2023. Meanwhile, the proportion of users who had been using their phones for three years or more decreased slightly (33%), and there was also a marginal decrease in the percentage of those who had used their devices for two to three years (30%). The shift from 2023 to 2024 was evenly distributed across these two categories. Currently, the usage pattern of older phones is almost identical to that observed in 2020.
CIRP attributes this trend to several factors. One contributing element is the ongoing promotions and incentives offered by network operators, which encourage early upgrades. Additionally, the launch of Apple Intelligence has enticed more users to try out its AI capabilities.
CIRP further speculates that users who upgrade their devices at a slower pace might postpone their purchases even further, waiting for a more compelling reason to replace their current equipment.
